By: Derek Hawkins//December 9, 2019//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Ruben Lopez Ramos v. William P. Barr
Case No.: 19-1728
Officials: RIPPLE, ROVNER, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Immigration – Removal Order – Due Process Violation
Ruben Lopez Ramos brings this petition to review the removal decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). He claims that the statutory scheme set forth in the since‐amended 8 U.S.C. § 1401 (1968) (amended 1986) and §§ 1431–32 (1968) (amended 2000) violates the Equal Protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause because those provisions prevent him from deriving citizenship through his United States citizen mother. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”), noting that the immigration court lacks jurisdiction over constitutional questions, limited her analysis to the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) and denied Mr. Lopez’s motion to terminate removal proceedings. The BIA affirmed without opinion the decision of the IJ. Mr. Lopez timely seeks review of the removal decision here. Because the statutory scheme has a rational basis, there is no equal protection violation. Consequently, we deny the petition for review.
Petition denied